INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian women's soccer team began their Crossroads League Tournament run with an effective 3-0 shutout on Wednesday night at Ascension St. Vincent Field, taking down seventh-seeded Mount Vernon Nazarene. Marian's win improves their record on the season to 15-2-2.

The Knights wasted no time getting on the board Wednesday night, striking early into the night. After seeing their first three shots of the match get denied or miss the goal, Lizzie Chlystun broke through with the team's first score of the match, driving in a goal on a Layla Brown assist to spark a 1-0 lead. Marian stayed on the attack with Kaitlyn Lavezzi and Brown firing shots on target, but the looks were denied by keeper Hannah Miller.

Miller's success of keeping Marian out of the goal snapped in the 27th minute, as the Knights were able to double their lead thanks to an own goal. Brown created the opportunity for the own goal by firing a pass toward the net, with the ball ricocheting off a defender and past Miller, providing the 2-0 advantage. Marian would take one more shot before the half closed, entering the break with their two goal lead.

Like the first half, the Marian offense struck early as the second half began, with Kaitlyn Lavezzi driving home the third goal of the evening. Brown again was the creator on the scoring play, setting up the sophomore for the goal to give their team a 3-0 lead. The score would be the last of the match for either team, despite Marian taking several chances on goal, coming from Lavezzi, Katie Koger, Chlystun, and Brown. Cassidy Nowlan would finish the match in goal after Mychaela Johnson played the first 72 minutes without a shot allowed, and in the 75th minute Nowlan made her first collegiate save, denying the Cougars of a chance to score.

The 3-0 victory saw Marian win the shot chart by a tally of 24-1, with the Knights taking 15 attempts in the second half. Chylstun scored the game-winning goal in two of her three shots on goal, while Brown and Koger each took a team-high six shot attempts. Brown assisted on two goals in the win, and Lavezzi scored one goal on one of her three shot attempts. Johnson earned her 10th win in goal of the season on Wednesday night. 

Marian's win over Mount Vernon advances the team to the Crossroads League Tournament Semifinals on Saturday night, where they will host No. 16 Indiana Wesleyan at Ascension St. Vincent Field. The match will begin at 7 PM.

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